Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

paigenicole27 I am a true crime fanatic, fascinated by the entirety of the process from the offense to the investigation to (especially) the trial. An avid watcher of most true crime shows and investigative reporting (including Dateline, 48 Hours, etc.) I've found that really good productions are rare. So many are vapid, trite, repetitive, unimaginative, and cliched. THE LAST DEFENSE regards crimes I have seen and read about many, many times in different media forms. However, the perspective, narrative, and new + old information is so masterfully conveyed that these over-told stories seem fresh and refreshing; it is just like hearing of these crimes for the first time as told by the most consummate of story tellers. ABC has provided true quality programming here.

matthijsalexander Me and my GF have been watching this. Me Dutch, she Thai. We were in a constant roller-coaster of doubt: She did it, she didn't, she did it, she didn't. Up till now (4 episodes in), with all the evidence presented we are still not sure.What is clear, the American system has too many disadvantages, too many people end up behind bars because 'their peers' may or may not have made a mistake. Media influences outcomes too much in some instances. Absolutely an interesting show, on all counts.

AudioFileZ Darlie Routier's murder conviction is, over twenty years later, out of the public consciousness. Supposedly the Routier case was solved and, sadly, there has been ever more shocking crimes. Still, at the time, it was a double child murder shot heard around the world. It seems most folks thought Darlie was guilty, she got the death sentence, case closed. The Last Defense re-opens the events and trial that put Darlie Routier on death row. It's surprising that several forensic experts, far surpassing any layman's knowledge of the crime, believe Darlie was wrongly convicted. Now, two decades on, this show is going to make you rethink what you thought you knew. To do so this can't be amateur assemblage of over zealous prosecutors and talking heads. It isn't. The Last Defense makes a compelling case expertly presented that there was a huge police/legal system rush to judgement and a well orchestrated character assassination of Darlie Routier carried out in the courtroom with the help of a salivating press. The tragedy of the brutal murder of two small children is not to be forgotten in all of this. This is the kind of case everyone wants the guilty party to removed from society with swift and severe justice served. The question is was the actual killer convicted? Judging by so much of what is brought to light here there is more than just a little doubt. First, it seems Darlie had no reason or predilection to commit any crime, certainly one that involved her children. Second, Darlie seems more guilty of a child-like mentality than either mental illness or insidious criminal smarts. Bottom line, she likely couldn't have staged the crime scene the prosecutors are saying she manufactured. It's clear she doesn't have the intent or skill as one imagines even a simple crime she might stage would be the easiest case to crack, probably ever. The girl had no intent, no motive, and couldn't have pulled the crime off without direct and concrete evidence seems obvious. In reality all the supposed scientific evidence presented to the jury in a super conservative Texas town (a town almost guaranteed Darlie was going to be convicted) is pseudo science plain and simple. Add to this the strange fact Routier's celebrated ,and well-paid, defense attorney decided to not bring in his own rebuttal experts, even after he'd paid them to find holes in the prosecution's science, absolutely stupefies. The show brings up a fact: this was a quite unfair trial and outcome based on the the unproven science and questionable facts. A total conviction by character assassination within a climate of bias which this created. One must hope people given the death sentence are convicted not by bias and only by irrefutable evidence leaving no reasonable doubt. Isn't this the way the U.S. criminal justice system is suppose to to work? If The Last Defense does nothing else it plainly shows how a conviction, and death sentence, can be hijacked. If Darlie was guilty, which seems highly doubtful, it's clear she wasn't convicted based on guilt of the crime itself. Disclaimer: I'm writing this after seeing three episodes of The Last Defense and will add to this review if anything further revealed actually links Darlie to the commission of the murders. I recommend seeing this series as it is professionally produced and raises serious questions regarding the death penalty. This is a well above average crime documentary.

michaelrthomson Not being American I'm unfamiliar with the opening story being told by this show, but the way in which the story has been told was enough to make me break out Google and do a little research.As is all too often the case with these sorts of 'wrongful outcome' criminal investigation shows it seems to skew very much in favour of the defence side of things, that in and of itself is fine so long as there is some objectivity coming up. It appears there are three episodes dedicated to this story, the next one being around the trail, and the last one titled 'the woman' must be about the woman at the centre of the case herself. I'm optimistic that each will give a more full account of the events leading up to, including and after the murder/s.Its pretty well put together with good production. The use of historical footage is again pretty typical for this sort of show, but I'm hoping those who are 'investigating' will be more evident as will their methodology.There is certainly enough so far to garner interest and further watching.